Basics of on-demand manufacturing companies for plastic parts manufacturing

On-demand manufacturing companies differ based on their production facility. This has to do with the type of products that they specialize in making. Many businesses build their manufacturing warehouses to promote efficient production. An on-demand facility has a layout that looks like that of the traditional production model. It comes with various workstations that can be used to carry out various processes. Each workstation can be dedicated to specific tasks such as:

• Design samples and prototyping
• Machining of products
• Product assembly
• Quality control

The nature of an on-demand manufacturing facility

This type of manufacturing company is designed in such a way that it allows for a flexible production process. The layout is very versatile and can be arranged easily to suit the production workflow of individual customer orders. This is how businesses in this industry can fully maximize the use of resources. It is usually different from a traditional production facility – that accommodates a single and fixed production layout. In the on-demand business model, the workshop layout features various technologies and machines. There is usually a control room that features the computers for:

• Management of inventory and products
• Equipment to help with tracking customers’ orders
• machines for scheduling production tasks

The layout of specific manufacturing facilities can differ based on the nature of the business. However, many of such layouts are used to streamline daily operations to accelerate the production process. These facilities are designed to meet a wide range of requirements from different customers. Even a single large-scale customer might order goods with about 30 variants in their thousands. This means that the layout of the facility might have to be adapted for the production of each batch.

 

A typical production layout for an on-demand services manufacturing company

On-demand production facilities usually have similar layouts as traditional production companies. But the former usually have a more efficient system to meet all types of requirements from different customers. While both production models have similar layouts, there are certain differences. This is where the benefits of on-demand manufacturing come in. This is a breakdown of a typical on-demand manufacturing facility:

 

1. The receiving zones:

This part of the facility is used to accept incoming supplies to the manufacturer. This may be raw materials, assembled parts, and many other supplies. They are dropped here and inspected to ensure that they meet basic quality requirements. These supplies are then registered for storage.

 

2. The production area:

This is the heart of the on-demand production facility and comes with multiple workstations. It is designated into different departments such as:

• The design and prototyping station: This department handles the product designs during the initial phases of the production process. It also does the prototyping of the product. Also, it uses a range of design analyses to check if the product can be manufactured and used.
• The machining and product fabrication station: This area is where you have the actual production machines. It houses an array of machines governed by different technologies such as 3D printers and CNC machines. You can also find many other machines within this zone of the facility. Note that the type of machine you find here depends on the manufacturing process of the chosen product.
• The product assembly station: This is the department in the facility where you have workstations that are responsible for putting the products together. The layout of this station is arranged based on the product. This means that it is flexible due to how a specific product should be assembled. The assembly line is easily adaptable and can change depending on the configuration of a certain product being produced.
• The quality control station: All manufacturing facilities usually have trained personnel that check each product batch for quality. A typical production facility usually has this department. If not, the quality control task can be outsourced to a third-party company. However, whatever the case, this department checks and ensures that each product has met specific quality standards and specifications.

 

3. Storage area for the products:

As with traditional facilities, on-demand manufacturing companies also have storage areas. They are used to store various elements such as finished products, raw materials, and other semi-finished components/goods. This part of the facility is organized systematically to make it easy for production personnel to fetch certain products. In this case, the facility usually uses warehouse and inventory management computer programs. This helps to efficiently organize and coordinate this part of the facility.

 

4. The product packaging zone:

In this part of the facility, the company houses its equipment for packaging finished goods. It also comes with all the machines and technologies used for off-labels and similar goods. It also has its branding and logo placement stations here. This means that customers can get all ordered products packaged in their designs.

 

5. The holding area for products awaiting shipping:

The manufacturing facility also comes with an elaborate holding area. This place usually comes with a cargo bay that is used to hold all the finished products that are to be shipped to the customer. In this area, they can also scan each product and assemble them in the transport as they await being shipped to the customer.

6. Support areas for the production facility:

An on-demand production company also has a supporting department within its facility. This area is made up of different offices and departments that support the production process. They include:

• The repair and maintenance division: This is the area that houses mechanical personnel who repair and inspect the production machines.
• Offices: Offices are used for production management and to provide customer services. It is also used for the coordination of shipping and logistical services. The offices can also be used as a place to process orders from customers.
• Inventory management: This is a very important area in the facility that provides inventory support. Inventory management is a very important area in many industrial facilities as it helps with the identification of hundreds or thousands of products/components stored.

For more about the basics of on-demand manufacturing companies for plastic parts manufacturing,you can pay a visit to Djmolding at https://www.djmolding.com/on-demand-manufacturing-service/ for more info.